Sunday, October 4, 2009

Week 6 Big Ten Rankings

1. #12 Iowa (5-0 (1-0), won versus Arkansas State 24-21): Despite the close win against FCS Arkansas State the Hawks are still the team to beat. They take on Michigan this week on a Nationally televised "Blackout" night game.

2. #11 Ohio State (4-1 (2-0), won at Indiana 33-14): While the Buckeye's shutout streak ended their winning streak did not and they are looking better and better every week as evidenced by their beat down of Indiana who gave Michigan fits last week. Watch out for the Bucks.

3. #14 Penn State (4-1 (1-1), won at Illinois 35-17): Penn State is still the class of the Big Ten. Even though the Illini hung with them for a half, they showed their clear superiority in the second half.

4. Wisconsin (5-0 (2-0), won at Minnesota 31-28): A tough rivalry road victory in front of a jacked-up crowd at a rumbling stadium proved the Badgers are for real.

5. Minnesota (3-2 (1-1), lost versus Wisconsin 31-28): Despite their mediocre record the Gophers are good. Eric Decker is the best receiver in the country and if the defense can step up, Minnesota could play with anyone.

6. Michigan (4-1 (1-1), lost at Michigan State 26-20 in OT): Michigan showed that their not as good as people really thought, but don't close the book yet on the Wolverines. A big weekend game against Iowa on Saturday could make or break their season.

7. Michigan State (2-3 (1-1), won versus Michigan 26-20 in OT): The Spartans proved they can win with their backs against the wall. Now will the be too high in the clouds after their win over the Wolverines?

8. Northwestern (3-2 (1-1), won at Purdue 27-21): Welcome back to respectability Wildcats. After falling down 21-3 at Purdue, the 'Cats rallied in front of a homecoming crowd and stole one from the Boilers. NU's offense can beat anyone.

9. Purdue (1-4, (0-1), lost versus Northwestern 27-21): Oh Boilers. A fourth straight loss by seven points or less sent a homecoming crowd home sad after Purdon't gave up a 21-3 lead. While the Boilers are 1-4, they've lost 4 straight games by a combined 18 points (that's an average of 4.5 points) and are heading for another non-bowl year.

10. Indiana (3-2 (0-2), lost versus Ohio State 33-14): After an undefeated pre-season Hoosier fans were thinking bowl. After an 0-2 Big Ten start Indiana reminded their fans this is football, not basketball (although even that hasn't been going so well lately).

11. Illinois (1-4 (0-2), lost versus Penn State 35-17): The good news: The Illini have already played both Ohio State and Penn State and their schedule is considerably easier the rest of the way. The bad news: They lost those games by a combined 65-17 and got shutout at OSU. Doesn't bode well for the rest of their season.

1 comment:

are you sure you put minnesota ahead of u of m? i mean, while i understand that eric decker is just a flat out stud, that shouldnt boost the team to one of the best in the big ten. fair enough, they played cal well the other week, however, cal has lost its last two if im not mistaken, they got blown out by oregon and then blown out again by usc i believe. i personally would flip flop mich. and minn.